Blue Trust Inc. Sells 3,067 Shares of Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its position in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 29.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,385 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,067 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNP. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 40.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 0.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 20,606 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Union Pacific by 1.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,528,426 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $351,660,000 after purchasing an additional 105,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $256.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Union Pacific from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.11.

Union Pacific Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $267.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.68. The firm has a market cap of $158.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.97. Union Pacific Corporation has a 1 year low of $210.84 and a 1 year high of $279.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.07. Union Pacific had a net margin of 29.20% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Corporation will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Union Pacific’s payout ratio is 45.47%.

Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In related news, EVP Eric J. Gehringer sold 2,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.96, for a total value of $789,504.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,012 shares in the company, valued at $11,353,447.52. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.70, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,492,157.40. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,378 shares of company stock worth $8,781,595. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Union Pacific Company Profile

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacific’s core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two‑thirds of the United States.